Advance To A New Level Of Floor Care

The tools and equipment used to maintain hard surface floors are rapidly maturing and becoming more sophisticated and user-friendly.

But, with all of these advancements, how can the end-user sort through all of the options available to them?

There are many factors that can affect floor care maintenance, and those in the position to choose the technology for their facilities should be well-versed in these factors.

Everything from traffic level, soil load and even the type of flooring can affect the design of a floor care program.

The cleaning and maintenance regimen of a facility''s hard floors needs to take all of these factors in to consideration when picking the tools and equipment that will chiefly care for these surfaces.

There are numerous factors that go into choosing a floor maintenance program and the tools and equipment to aid in the upkeep.

Money Talks

In the current state of the economy, chief among these factors is a facility''s budget for labor and equipment, which dictates how often the floors can be cleaned, buffed or burnished and restored.

When choosing the correct solution for hard floor care, businesses should look for solutions that improve staff productivity and cleaning efficiency.

“Eighty-five percent of cleaning professionals have adopted a ‘doing more with less'' approach, placing increased demands on staff productivity and cleaning efficiency,” says Mike Weber, principal scientist for Procter & Gamble Professional. “Cleaning professionals are turning to products that can help them achieve these goals in tight economic conditions.”

A way to do this is by choosing a floor chemical system that is designed to work in conjunction with the equipment.

“If a cleaner and finish are designed to be compatible, the life of the floor can be further extended. High-performance equipment, such as high-efficiency autoscrubbers, can accentuate the incompatibilities in a floor care system, accelerating finish wear-out with ineffective cleaners,” says Weber.

Proper hard floor care, and getting the most out of the latest technology, can begin and end with the type of chemical products that are used.

According to Weber, floor cleaners need to remove soil effectively in order to preserve or extend the life of a floor and its finish.”

When soil is left behind, no matter how advanced the floor scrubber being used is, the effectiveness of the technology is greatly reduced; likewise, if the finish on the flooring doesn''t last, the equipment quickly becomes irrelevant.

“Floor chemical systems, designed to work synergistically together, will enhance the effectiveness of the floor care equipment, thus saving even more time, money and effort,” Weber stresses.

The overall appearance of a facility can be reflected in how well or how poorly the facility maintains their hard surface flooring.

Extending the life of the hard flooring in a facility should be a top priority.

Amanda Martini-Hughes is the assistant editor of Cleaning & Maintenance Management (CMM) magazine and a graduate of New York University Publishing Institute. She has been part of the CMM team for more than five years, working on both print and web-based projects. She can be reached at amanda@issa.com.